The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Calibrachoa, botanically known as Calibrachoa sp., and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Kakegawa S81’. It is characterized by having a rose flower color, a white corolla throat color and a semi-creeping growth habit. The new cultivar originated from a hybridization made in Kakegawa, Japan in 1998. A proprietary Calibrachoa breeding line with white flowers and a creeping growth habit (female) was crossed with a proprietary Calibrachoa breeding line with rose flower color and a semi-creeping growth habit (male).
In February 1999, F1 seed from the above hybridization was sown in the greenhouse. Four single-plant selections were made based on their purple-pink flower color and semi-creeping growth habit and intercrossed to produce F2 seed. In August 1999, F2 seed was sown and 120 total plants were evaluated. One single-plant selection was made based on its deep rose flower color and semi-creeping growth habit and asexually propagated through rooted plant cuttings in both Kakegawa, Japan and Salinas, Calif. ‘Kakegawa S81’ has been shown to reproduce true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation.